Are We Making Room?

What Is The Lord Calling Rachel and I To Do?

Introduction:

As I was preparing for this message, I was reminded of a Christmas season that wasn’t the greatest, mostly because I was being selfish. It was somewhere in the early 2000’s and like most Christmas Eve nights, I couldn’t sleep. I was jacked up on soda, cookies, and I was getting presents in about 12 hours. On this particular Christmas morning, around 4am, both my sister and I couldn’t sleep. Me being the big brother that I am, I came up with a crazy idea. I turned to my sister and said “Hey, since we can’t sleep, maybe we should open up our presents now and then tell mom and dad what we got when they wake up.” There was some hesitance at first, but eventually we both decided to follow through on what I thought was a great plan. Sadly, it wasn’t. When my parents awoke and said let’s open presents, I said with much pride and joy “Oh no mom and dad, we don’t need to do that. We already did when you were sleeping. We can show you what we got though!” Let’s just say there were a lot tears and fighting the rest of the day. At that moment, I didn’t understand what was so wrong with what happened. Obviously, looking back on it, my selfish nature was consumed about making me happy and getting what I wanted, which were my presents.

As we continue our Make Room series, we are going to looking at the account in Matthew 2 about the Wise Men and King Herod. Throughout the message we are going to look at how each responded to knowing that our Messiah, Jesus Christ, was born. The question I want all of us to consider today is; Are We Making Room For Jesus Christ?

Matthew 2:1–18 NLT

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”

(Prayer)

King Herod:

The historian Josephus would refer to King Herod as “Herod the Great.”

Born around 70 B.C. - His family loyal to the Roman Government.

Soldier, Shrewd Politician, Builder.

Started to Rule around 39 B.C.

Was a Paranoid Tyrant - Had 10 different wives and fathered 15 kids. He executed one of his wives because she argued with him and Herod’s sister disapproved of her. He executed two of his sons because of rumors that they were trying to start a mutiny.

The Magi:

Who Were They? - Magi - Royal Astrologers. There were more than 3. Some suggest up to 12 came to see the Messiah. According to tradition, we at least know the names of the three wise men who gave their gifts;

Melchior (Mayl-Chee-Ur)- means “my king is light” gave the gold.

Gaspar (Gas-Par) - means “temple keeper” gave the myrrh.

Balthazar (Bal-Thuh-Zaar) - means “God will help” gave the frankincense.

Where Did They Come From? - The biblical text says eastern lands. According to many scholars, the belief is they came from Persia or modern day Iran. They traveled close to 900 miles to come and worship Jesus.

How did they know about Jesus? - They knew of the writings of Daniel and the prophecy that was spoken by the Lord to him.

Daniel 9:24–27 NLT

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

They also could have read of the prophecy found in Numbers;

Numbers 24:17 NLT

I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.

A crash course of good vs evil (in the spiritual realm) is about to take place.

5 Things to Consider:

When we make room for Jesus Christ, we read and believe His word.

The wise men believed the scriptures. Do we?

Psalm 33:4 NLT

For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.

Thought to Consider: “When the Father said He would bring His Son, He brought His Son. When Jesus said He is coming back again, we can trust He is coming back again.”

2. When we make room for Jesus Christ, we seek to worship Him.

The wisemen sought to truly worship Jesus, Herod wanted to kill Him.

Question To Ask: “Are we worshipping Jesus Christ or the season the world tries to sell us about Christmas?”

American Spending During The Season ( gobankingrates.com);

Holiday Decorations - $832.34 per household

Plants and Flowers - $2.28 Billion

Holiday Parties - $1,422.65 per party

The season the world sells about Christmas will not transform us or bring us joy, only Jesus Christ will bring us true joy!

Psalm 4:7 NLT

You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.

3. When we make room for Jesus Christ, we understand His worth.

The wisemen understood the worth of Jesus Christ. I recently watched a clip from “The Christmas Experience” on Right Now Media and I thought it would be good for us to briefly see to show you what I mean about understanding the worth of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing more worthy then Jesus Christ!

Revelation 4:11 NLT

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

“You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory”

4. When we make room for Jesus Christ, we live with humility.

The magi worshipped and bowed down to Christ. Herod, allowed his pride to get in the way.

1 Peter 5:6 NLT

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

Humility Living = We live with a mentality that everything is the Lord’s.

Mary - “ I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”-Luke 1:38

Joseph - “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.”-Matthew 1:24

Wisemen - “They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him.”-Matthew 2:11A

5. When we make room for Jesus Christ, our loyalty belongs to Him and to Him alone.

The magi were loyal to God and did what He asked of them. Herod was loyal to the Roman government.

Acts 5:29–32 NLT

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

Loyalty To Christ Hymn:

From over hill and plain There comes the signal strain, ’Tis loyalty, loyalty, loyalty to Christ; Its music rolls along, The hills take up the song, Of loyalty, loyalty, Yes, loyalty to Christ.

“On to victory! On to victory!” Cries our great Commander “On!” We’ll move at His command, We’ll soon possess the land, Thro' loyalty, loyalty, Yes, loyalty to Christ.

O hear, ye brave, the sound That moves the earth around, ’Tis loyalty, loyalty, loyalty to Christ; Arise to dare and do, Ring out the watchword true, Of loyalty, loyalty, Yes, loyalty to Christ.

Come, join our loyal throng, We’ll rout the giant wrong, ’Tis loyalty, loyalty, loyalty to Christ; Where Satan’s banners float We’ll send the bugle note, Of loyalty, loyalty, Yes, loyalty to Christ.

The strength of youth we lay At Jesus’ feet today, ’Tis loyalty, loyalty, loyalty to Christ; His Gospel we’ll proclaim, Throughout the world’s domain, Of loyalty, loyalty, Yes, loyalty to Christ.

Conclusion - The Meaning of Christmas:

A television interviewer was walking the streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. The interviewer stopped one young woman on the sidewalk, and asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?”

She responded, “I don’t know. Is that the day that Jesus died?”

There was some truth in her answer—Christ was born to die.

Galatians 4:4–7 NLT

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

(Prayer)